Masey McLain and the Role God Wanted Her to Play (Part 2)

John Farrell: Did you have a favorite scene or was there one that stood out more than others?

Masey McLain: Yeah. I think the day when we filmed the play scenes. It’s more of a montage where we did the theatrical production. That day was so fun. Me and the lead guy – his name is Cameron – we had a blast off the set. There were times we literally couldn’t stop laughing and barely got a take in because just the dumbest things were funny that day.

But I needed those days. That shoot was so heavy, and when you’re filming a feature, you’re all day every day in the zone. So, when I had those lighter scenes, I really embraced them because I needed that light-heartedness. I think that was one of my favorites, and then the prom scene was definitely a favorite, too.

JF: What would you say is the movie’s main message you hope viewers take from it?

Masey: What’s really cool is that so many people who have watched this movie take away different things. Some people will say Rachel’s boldness was what really hit them and that was the main thing to them. It’s really cool how everyone just takes away different parts of the message and whatever hits home for them. I’ve loved hearing those stories.

For me, I would say the main message was Rachel’s faithfulness in everyday life. Just looking at the people around her, looking at who she could serve that day. A lot of times I think wanting to do big things is not a bad thing at all.

I’m a dreamer at heart, 100%. I go for the big dreams and that kind of thing. At the same time, God calls us to live faithful and obedient lives and the impacts we make as we do that is far greater than we could imagine.

Rachel had no idea that the way she lived her life would still be talked about today. And it really is a chain effect. We’ve only been given so much time here and we have to be faithful with that and get outside ourselves and see who we can serve today. See how we can make an impact. It’s in the small ways that make a big difference.

It’s Worth It

JF: You said earlier that your book is kind of the last step surrounding the I’m Not Ashamed movie and its message. What led you to decide to write the book?

Masey: It’s interesting how it happened. It was not the conventional way. Before I did I’m Not Ashamed, I was at a place in my life where I didn’t know what I was doing. I think I was finishing one of my last years of college, but I didn’t know what was next. I felt like God laid it on my heart to start writing. So, I started writing these devotionals and was like, “I don’t know what I’m going to do with these. I don’t know where these are going to go.”

I had no connections to anything to put out a devotional, but I did it. I just started writing and I ended up having 21 devotionals. I had them and I just kind of sat on them.

After I filmed, I’m Not Ashamed, right before the movie came out, a publisher called me and said that as kind of a tail-end of the movie or to go with the movie, they wanted to know if I would do a devotional. I was like, “Yeah, definitely.”

He said that they were looking for like a 21-day devotional and I was like, “This sounds bizarre, but I already have it. I have exactly 21 days.”

He was like, “What?” I said, “Yeah, I wrote it before the film.”

I ended up going back and kind of incorporating I’m Not Ashamed into them. I would use the main themes that I had and then really connect them with Rachel’s life. I ended up doing a total revamp of them, but it was really cool that God had already put that on my heart. So, it was kind of ready to go in a way for revisions and adding in when it was time to put it out. That’s how that came out.

JF: It’s amazing how God works in that way.

Masey: It really is. It blows my mind.

JF: What did you learn about yourself while writing It’s Worth It? I imagine after going through the production and filming, you were in a different place mentally than when you first wrote it.

Masey: Yes. Going back into the 21 days and adding stuff from the lens of playing Rachel and revamping it all added so much more depth to the devotional because I had to experience all of that. It gave me a new outlook on life in some ways. It also really resonated in my heart that it is worth it following Jesus.

We only get one life, and we were created for a purpose, and following Him is the only way. It really is. It’s the only way that there’s true life and true freedom. No matter what happens in this life, we see what Rachel faced. No matter what, He’s overcome it all and it’s worth it to follow Him and whatever He says and wherever He says because He is life, and apart from Him we don’t have life. It was just a really sweet time, just walking in that and writing that and getting to share that with others.

I think high school is probably the main demographic that gets my devotional and it just encourages them that the world says compromise and settle and live comfortably and all this kind of stuff, but that’s all deceiving and it’s all a lie and it’s worth it to follow Him.

JF: Of all the topics that are discussed in the 21 days of devotions, which would you say is the most important? What would you say is the one most people probably struggle with?

Masey: I have the same answer for both questions – the chapter called “What Does it Cost You?” I think the hardest thing for people is realizing that we’re not promised an easy life and that there’s going to be a cost to following Jesus in this life.

You’re going to look different from the world. You’re going to act differently. You’re going to be persecuted in some way. It’s not the world’s way so it’s going to be hard. I think that’s hard, especially for the younger generations to wrap their minds around because no one wants that. No one wants a hard life and no one wants it to cost us anything. We want the sweet times of following Jesus where it’s easy and it’s accepted and everything. For many, it might be really difficult. So, I would say that’s probably the hardest chapter to resonate, but at the same time, I think it’s the most important.

Don’t Give Up

JF: What advice do you have for young people who are struggling with life and feeling worthless to not give up?

Masey: I would say that the main thing is that through Jesus we have hope and that no matter what the enemy throws at us, Jesus says that he’s already defeated it and because He’s defeated it, if we are in Him, then we’re already seated up in the heavenly realms with Him. Nothing on this earth can separate us from Him. Not life, not death, not angels, not demons, not any principality, nothing can break that separation.

I would say, “Cling to Jesus with all you’ve got. He is our hope, and He is our life and nothing in this world compares to that. He will never leave you or forsake you.”

I love what my dad says, which has stuck with me. Scripture says that we are written on the palms of Jesus’s hands and my dad puts it this way: he said if someone gets a tattoo of your name on their wrist or on their palm, are they going to forget about you? No, they’re not because every time that person does anything they look down and they see your name. And every single one of us that is in Christ is written on the palms of His hands. He has not forgotten about you, and He will not. He cannot forget about you. I would encourage them with that, too.

JF: How are young people today able to protect themselves from temptation and trouble?

Masey: Oh, my goodness. The main thing is that I think the battle starts in your mind. I’ve really been homing in lately and learning about taking your thoughts captive and what that means. Like in scripture, Paul tells us that we make every thought obedient to Christ. We submit every thought to Him and that’s because we’re going to have thoughts that are not honoring to God. Thoughts that are a temptation to do other things, or temptation to look at other things, or temptation to do whatever because we’re human and because the enemy attacks us with those things.

I’m reading a book by Dr. Caroline Leaf, and she talks about the power of the mind and just how important it is that we understand what our thoughts do. She says, scientifically, when you have a thought, whether it’s good or bad, it multiplies in your brain and it creates matter and takes up space. Unless you get that thought, like if it’s a bad thought, if you don’t grab that thought and throw it out, it will multiply in your brain.

It does more in our minds than we think, especially if it’s negative. Say you are going down a really dark path in your brain, a dark cloud actually comes over our brains and covers the thought patterns that are thinking that way. Say we use scripture as a weapon, as soon as we correct those thoughts and say truth over those thoughts and say, “No, that’s not true. God says this about me.” That’s when we quote scripture back. That’s when we use scripture as a weapon. Then the dark cloud actually begins to remove from the brain, and it starts to rewire itself to think how God intended us to.

I know that’s a long answer to the temptation question, but I really think it’s just all about your mind and taking your thoughts captive because it can be very destructive, and you won’t win the battle if you don’t.

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